Ron Reminiscing
by boredgeek
Summary: Ron tells about an event after a mission.  The event happens a few years after the series and various other somewhat disturbing events.  A small slice in a large story pie.
1. The Mission

Disclaimer: I do not own KP or anything related to the show. This story is meant for entertainment purposes only. At least I hope its entertaining.

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Ron's POV

I ignored Kim's more violent tendencies by chalking it up to getting older and leaving certain "childish" beliefs behind. Beliefs such as not kicking an enemy while they're down. One notable occurrence was with her nemesis, Shego. It had started out as any of the countless missions against Drakken. You know the kind. Sneak into a place that is so obviously a lair, get by the rent-a-guards and synthodrones, interrupt Drakken mid-rant with a snappy bit of sass, beat down Shego, capture Drakken and/or destroy the lair. Where this one went different was after the capture. Thankfully (or not) I didn't set off the self destruct mechanism. That may have had something to do with there not being any big red buttons. There was a big green one, though... Drakken and Shego were huddled in the middle of the lair tied together with plasma resistant restraints while we waited for GJ to arrive with their transport. Drakken was unconscious from a fall he made while running to the escape pod. Hit his head on a low hanging pipe. You'd think he'd realize "indoor plumbing" didn't mean "visible" indoors.

Shego was conscious. No, that's not quite accurate. Shego was stewing. Shego was livid. Shego was pissed. Shego was... you get the idea. Kim was in an odd mood. She seemed to enjoy finding and pushing Shego's buttons. It almost seemed like a game to her. Every grating of the villainess' teeth was another point. Get that vein on her forehead to throb, another point. Get her mad enough to struggle and dislocate her own shoulder? Oh! Triple barb score! It was something I didn't like witnessing and hope to never see again. Yes, Shego was a villain, she stole, beat people up, and caused countless amounts of damage, but once she has been beaten, that should be the end. To hurt her further would be pointless. No longer would it be serving justice, just feeding revenge. Somehow, Kim didn't see it this way.

While her barb barrage didn't sit too well with me, I really didn't feel any great urge to put a stop to it while the activities remained verbal. With Shego's healing power, there was nothing she could do to herself that would be serious. The line was crossed, however, when Kim decided to change the lashing from verbal to physical. She had found a length of thick wire cable from Drakken's failed doomsday machine. Kim had taken this roughly 6 ft length of cable and was moving to use it as a whip. I asked her what she thought she was doing in as calm a voice as I could manage. Either she didn't hear me, decided to ignore me, or was so transfixed on her actions she was incapable of hearing me, because she didn't respond. Drakken and Shego were between me and Kim, not directly so I knew Kim was able to see me. Even still, she didn't see me start moving toward her, I guess she was too focused. Unfortunately, I was too far away to stop her from taking the first swing. Keep in mind, this wasn't some simple orange extension cord. This was mad science grade cable. If I didn't know Kim, I would have been surprised she was able to wield such an unwieldy item. It had to have been at least 3 inches in diameter and not that flexible. It was like a 6 ft floppy bat.

The sound the cable made when it struck Shego's left shoulder was yet another sound that I would be very happy to do without. Of course, being Shego, she couldn't show any sign of pain but I knew that strike had to have broken at least her arm. She just stared at her attacker with a look that left no doubt who would be the first person she'd visit after getting free nor what that visit would entail. Kim's face wasn't difficult to read either. Hers had equal parts anger and joy. I could understand the anger to a point, but the joy concerned me.

I stumbled a bit when the first hit happened and I was still some 10 feet away from Kim. I was not close enough to stop her next strike which looked to be coming sooner then I'd like. In case you're wondering, "never" is when I'd like. There seemed to be only one way for me to stop her. By then, I was only 4 feet from Shego so it seemed I would be taking one for someone who probably would believe it to be an insult to her. Like I didn't believe she could take what the princess could dish out. How dare me to not want to see someone get injured for no reason!? I moved quicker than I thought possible sliding myself in front of Shego with my back to Kim and prepared as best I could for what I knew was gonna hurt worse than the time I OD'd on Diablo sauce. What shocked me was Shego. I had expected her to give me a hateful stare as much as she was giving Kim. But what I saw looked more like the pain I was about to feel with maybe a hint of confused thankfulness.

Before I could dwell on that little bit of info, my eyes clenched shut from the sudden pain in my back. Along with the sound of cable against flesh, I heard a surprised, "RON!", from the person behind me. I thought I blacked out momentarily because everything went black. But then I noticed some green mixed in with the blackness. Rolling my head up a little, I then had an EXTREMELY close up view of two of Shego's best assets. The same assets I enjoyed watching jiggle and bounce while she fought with Kim. I tried to apologize, but it was muffled for some reason. Apparently, getting whacked by a 6ft cable kinda makes your logic a bit faulty. I forgot to remove my face from her chest before attempting speech. As quickly as I could (read: slowly and painfully) I pushed back with my arms and attempted to get to my feet. Not quite making it to my feet, I more like stumbled backwards trying get to my knees. I heard a loud thud which I assumed was Kim dropping the cable and soon felt a supporting pair of arms helping me. Wincing when she got near my lower back, she repositioned her hands and helped guide me to the floor. It didn't seem like I was going to be able to stand for some time.

I wasn't sure if anything was broken, but I was getting a little panicked when I realized my legs weren't responding at all. No wiggling toes. No nothing. Not even pain.

Now that I think back on it, Kim didn't have nearly as much concern in her voice as I thought at the time. She even started out by asking/demanding why I got in the way. Eventually, she did get around to asking how I felt and if I was alright. Hell, I could even see concern on Shego's face. That was a blessing, though, because it shocked me so much it helped to distract me from some of the pain. While my legs didn't hurt, my back was making up for them in spades.

Around that time GJ finally arrived. While a medic was checking me out and pumping various pain medications into my arm, I heard him ask her what caused my injuries. Before slipping into blissful darkness, I heard Kim hesitantly respond, "Mission related accident."

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A/N: This is a story recounted by Ron of an event somewhere around year 2 in my developing time line. Yes, Kim is definitely not the same Kim from the series. A lot happens in the two years after high school graduation. More on that later. I'm throwing this out here too see which parts get torn to shreds and which are merely wounded. Gotta know what to work on, ya know.


	2. The Hospital

Disclaimer: This jumble of words is mine. The characters represented by those words are not, they belong to some mickey mouse operation. I'm dealing with it, but it requires so much medication.

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Later, when Ron awoke, he didn't remember much of what happened. Last thing that was clear in his mind was listening to Kim viciously berate Shego. He had no idea why he chose that moment to suddenly fall asleep. "Meh, it probably just felt like the thing to do.", he thought and promptly stopped worrying about it. Curious as to what time it was, Ron turned his head to look at his alarm clock. Well, there was alarm. It was him being alarmed that his clock was doing a really great impersonation of a lunch tray with what looked like cafeteria food. Looking around, Ron soon realized he was not in his room, but in a hospital room instead. "Ok. I know something must have gone terribly wrong for this to happen.", he thought. Ron went over the last few moments he could remember, trying to piece together something. Anything. Slowly, as if browsing on a dial-up connection, images slowly started to appear.

All there seemed to be was just snippets of images like a slide show. There was one of Kim with a long cable of some sort standing in front of Shego. He didn't really know why Shego seemed a bit more beat up than she looked when he helped tie her up. Then there was an image of Kim taking a swing at Shego with the cable. Next image to download was a brief flash of Shego's face. Also, for some strange reason, there was a short moment where he felt soft and happy right before sudden intense pain. Odd, Shego's face looked somewhat like she was concerned about something. Something bad must have happened to her. She only cares about herself, so if she was concerned that must mean she was in trouble. "Kim was swinging that bat-like cable (bat cable? Holy bad pun, Ronman!) at her so Shego must've been injured enough to be sent to a hospital and I am checking up on her but fell asleep. That's gotta be it.", he said to himself.

Finally figuring out why he was there, Ron went to go about finishing his chore so he could get home. He was really tired and hungry for some reason. It felt like he hadn't eaten for hours. He quickly rolled out of bed and went for the door. "Hmmmm. Oddly breezy for a hospital room", Ron thought after taking a few steps.

"waitaminute..."

"If I'm here visiting someone, I would either be in a chair in a waiting room or in a chair in the person's room. Definitely not in an empty room. In the BED in an empty room. In a HOSPITAL GOWN in the BED in an EMPTY ROOM!", were Ron's frantic thoughts as panic started setting in.

"Gotta get a grip. Can't freak out. Must stay calm.", said Ron trying to calm himself before a full blown panic attack can get started. "First step: figure out why I've been admitted to a hospital.", he thought. Going to the bathroom in the small room, He looked at himself in the mirror. "So far so good. No marks or bruises on that handsome face looking back at me." Checking his arms and legs leads to the same diagnosis. "I am one fine example of the male gender. Nothing out of place. No scars, scrapes, or pains.", he said to the handsome devil in the mirror. Completely confused as to why he was there, he went to look for any charts or paperwork that may point to the reason for a perfectly healthy person to be hospitalized. Maybe something in Drakken's lair was toxic and KP and him were just here as a precaution.

Cracking the door open just a few inches, Ron reached out and grabbed the folder from the slot on the outside of the door. Moving back to the bed, he started milling through the menagerie of medical mumbo-jumbo. Most of it he didn't understand but there was a section that seemed to stand out. Deciphering the doctor's handwriting wasn't too easy, but a he was able to read the important part. It stated he had "three thoracic and two lumbar vertebrae broken. There is no way to repair the bone. The bone damage is too extensive and the spinal cord is damaged. The patient will not walk again."

After picking up the contents of the folder from the floor, he had to sit down. "Not walk again? What have I been doing?", he wondered. He checked the bed to make sure he wasn't having an out-of-body experience. His hands didn't go through things, so he wasn't a ghost. "This could mean only one thing. The doctors only 'thought' I had a broken back, right? Wait, are there X-Rays in the folder?" Looking through the folder, he found them and started to slowly flip through them. Ron realized that it didn't take a medical professional to tell that whoever this is, has a royally screwed up backbone. "Broken" didn't quite capture what was on the x-rays. Destroyed, Demolished, Shattered. Those would fit much better.

"Ok, so the doctors weren't wrong about the diagnosis. So why am I not in pain. How did my back go from a mess of bone chips to feeling like normal?", thought the royally confused Ron. Being pretty sure he wasn't going to get any answers from himself and seeing that no one was in the room with him, he decided to go on a quest for answers.

"It must be late at night.", Ron thought. There's no other time of day he could think of to explain so few people in the halls. Spotting a clock, he saw the time was just after one. The halls were so silent he could hear the various machines in other patients' rooms. Ron wandered aimlessly for a while since he really didn't know where to find any answers or even if he could get some since he was wandering around in an open-back gown. There just didn't seem to be anyone around. Granted, this may have been a blessing. The staff may not enjoy the idea of patients wandering around. They probably wouldn't want him bothering any of the other patients either, even if the one he wanted to bother was a wanted felon.

Ron got a stroke of luck when he turned a corner and saw a coat rack sporting a long jacket. Promising himself that he would return it just as soon as he was done, he slipped it on over the gown. Now he at least wouldn't look like a patient at a glance. He just needed to make sure no one payed any more attention to him than normal.

After much wandering, he found the reception desk. There was no one at the station, which he thought was odd. "I guess the person is on a smoke break.", he figured. Checking down the halls to make sure no one could see him, he crept around to the terminal. He was pretty sure that at this time of night there would be only one person he knew in the building, assuming she had been admitted as a patient. Ron looked at the computer and tried to figure out how to do a patient lookup. Seeing a box labeled, 'name', he started typing. Clicking 'search', he was pleasantly surprised to see what looked like search results. Seeing the room number for her as being A113, he jotted it on a post-it. Ron backed out of the results page and made sure the screen looked as close to how he found it as possible.

Making his way to the room, Ron was glad it was so late. There were very few people wandering about to get in his way. Those that were out seemed to be of the "leave me alone and I'll leave you alone" variety. Upon finding the room, he saw that the posted police officer who was sitting in a chair by the door had fallen soundly asleep. As quietly as he could, Ron pulled the folder from the door to see what was waiting on the other side. "Hmmm. Not as bad as a broken back, but still not quite nice. Broken shoulder blade, upper arm, bruised ribs, and a dislocated shoulder along with miscellaneous scrapes and bruises. Hopefully, she won't be too unhappy to be awakened right now. Either that, or she might be hopped up on pain meds and won't care." Ron put the folder back, he carefully turned the door handle and slowly opened the door just enough to allow him to enter.

The lights were on but they were set very low. There is just barely enough light to make out where the various pieces of furniture are. Cautiously making his way toward the bed, he couldn't help but stare. "She really is very beautiful. Not that there would ever be a chance she'd go for someone like me. Of course, I don't think I'd go for someone like her. There were just too many complications for that kind of thing. Besides, I'm going out with Kim.", rambled Ron's inner voice. Putting an abrupt stop to that line of thought, he actually looked at her. The injuries didn't seem quite as bad as what was in the folder. Sure, he could make out some bruising, but not much else. She didn't even have any casts where she should have broken bones. It might have been the light, though. And the fact he can't see broken bones through skin. Couldn't really see much anyway, the room was so dimly lit. Ron definitely couldn't see when her eyes opened. Suddenly, she twisted around to face him and raised her right arm, which was now glowing very brightly. She seemed about ready to threaten him, but once there was enough light to see by, her expression changed from anger to surprise to shock all while her mouth was moving as if she were trying to speak.

The semi-intelligible statement she struggled to say sounded like, "Wha... but... broken... walking... can't... How?"

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A/N: I tried moving to third person for this chapter. Feel free to drop a note if you have any thoughts, concerns, winning lottery numbers, etc. I accept any comments since I can't stop you anyway. Not much else to say except happy reading :)


	3. Talking with Shego

Disclaimer: I tried to get the rights, but the mouse said, "No touchie!"

Thoughts are represented by _italicized_ text.

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Suddenly, she twisted around to face him and raised her right arm, which was now glowing very brightly. She seemed about ready to threaten him, but once there was enough light to see by, her expression changed from anger to surprise to shock all while her mouth was moving as if she were trying to speak.

The semi-intelligible statement she struggled to say sounded like, "Wha... but... broken... walking... can't... How?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!", was Ron's response.

After making sure his heart was still beating, Ron replied in a slightly calmer voice, "I was hoping you'd know." Ron was beginning to realize he wasn't going to get much information if she was as confused as him. He reached over to the switches on the wall and brought the lights up a little more so they could see each other without her having to stay lit. She put out her flaming fist of doom and sat up in the bed. Ron really was thankful that she seemed more curious than angry right now.

"Don't worry, Stoppable. My legal advisor has strongly suggested I should not harm anyone while I'm here. My advise to you, 'Don't push your luck.'"

Figuring he should be forthcoming to show he just wanted to talk, Ron started off, "All I remember is moving in front of you and then darkness. I really have no idea what happened between then and waking up roughly 30 minutes ago in a hospital room. It was only when I looked at my chart that I saw the diagnosis and x-rays. I was hoping you would at least be willing to fill in part of the gap."

Ron became a little concerned because she started blushing and looked away momentarily. This was really not the reaction he expected, but she quickly recovered and continued in a somewhat annoyed tone. "You fell...", she started then mumbled, "on me", low enough so Ron wasn't sure if he heard her correctly. Before he could ask her, she continued back at normal volume, "when you were hit. She got you right in the small of your back. I could tell something broke because your lower half seemed to just go limp. You tried to get up, but could only push up with your arms. Princess ran up and helped you roll to the floor on your back. I don't know much else because shortly after that, GJ came rushing in and took me away. I'm stuck here until the bones are set, then its off to prison. Though, I had better not be there long." She looked away when she said the last statement as if she were growling at someone else.

Quirking an eyebrow up Ron asked in the most nonthreatening voice he was capable of, "Why _are_ you going along with everything? Usually, you just escape before any kind of trial. I mean, you're not even in restraints right now."

Clenching her hands and eyes closed tightly and growling briefly, Shego tried to remember exactly why she was 'going along with everything.' Her lawyer had assured her he would be able to play up Kim's actions against her as excessive violence and that would draw a lot of attention away from the alleged criminal acts. It might even be enough to get them out without any sentence since the apprehending officer seemed to take the sentencing in her own hands. Of course, that wasn't the reason Shego finally agreed. Realizing how much of a dark spot this scandal would make on the princess' reputation was too tasty of an opportunity to miss. So what if she ends up going to prison. It isn't like she hasn't busted out before.

While she was curious about how it seemed like nothing happened to him, she could have done without the added stress of having to deal directly with the buffoon. Though, she might be able to have a little fun while sating her curiosity. Planting a little seed of doubt in his mind sounded like a promising bit of entertainment. Hiding a mischievous smile, she picked a good starting line hoping to cause him to forget he asked a question.

"Why did you get in front of me? Didn't you see she was swinging that cable at me?"

Ron thought that was a very good question and told her as much. "You had already been defeated and captured. You had no means of defending yourself and there was absolutely no reason for her to attack you. It wasn't like you were escaping from the restraints. What Kim was doing was just wrong and I had do something." Looking to the side and with a lower voice, more to himself, Ron added, "Though, next time I think I'll just try tapping her on the shoulder."

"You might want to know, Pumpkin didn't tell anyone that she caused your little back problem. She made it sound like she wasn't even involved with it. Now, while that problem seems to have cleared up nicely, it kinda makes me wonder what kind of a friend someone is when they won't take responsibility for hurting you.", she said as if the news were some juicy bit of gossip.

Hearing this, Ron didn't know what to think for a moment. _My best friend/girlfriend wallops me on the back, causes some major damage, and tries to deny she did it? Too much to think on right now. I'll get back to that later._ To Shego he said, "She probably just wasn't thinking clearly. Besides, I'm fine so there really isn't anything to be responsible for." Hoping that would at least satisfy her enough to drop it, he tried to bring a close to the conversation, "If you don't know anything else that happened to me, I'll stop bothering you and go." Moving away from the side of her bed, he turned to ward the door.

She figured he might try to play it off, suggesting that since he was fine there wasn't a problem. _Just like the weak hero type. Can never believe that someone could actually lie on purpose._ Noticing he was making his way out, she tried to think of something quick to bring him back. She hadn't yet found out about his sudden recovery. She had a suspicion, but she preferred hearing things from the source. "Hey Stoppable, are you sure there isn't something you already know of that would've helped with your back? Something like a mystical and magical power?" Yeah, she was leading him to an answer, but she was pretty confident. After all, ol' Monty can't seem to shut up about 'Stoppable the pretender, stealing the power that should be his', yadda yadda. Maybe there's some actual practical uses for the mystical garbage.

Ron froze when he realized Shego must know something about the mystical monkey power. Even though he was pretty oblivious about most things, the hint in her question stood out like a salad on the Bueno Nacho menu. Deciding he should err on the side of caution, he replied, "Yeah, about that... nothing mystical I'm aware of." Of course, that statement almost might have possibly been somewhat believable if it weren't for the fact he was breathing shallow and rubbing the back of his neck. At least he wasn't facing her so she couldn't see his eyes darting around.

Seeing through the obviously poor attempt at a lie, Shego figured she'd try to play to his sympathetic and caring side. Huffing and crossing her arms she spoke with an aggravated tone, "Fine. Expect me to answer your questions honestly, but treat mine like they don't matter. Like I don't matter." Adding to the act, she noisily turned away from him.

Not seeing any easy way out of his predicament, Ron went with what he was good at.

He bolted. Bursting out of the door, jolting the sleeping guard awake, and slamming into and tipping over a randomly placed food cart with empty trays.

Out of the room and out of immediate danger, Ron slowed down to a brisk walk. He wasn't really paying any attention to anyone or anything around him. He had a lot to think about. About his back: _I know the I've been learning a lot of new tricks the past couple of summers at Yamanuchi, but I didn't realize the MMP would repair that kind of damage. I will definitely have to ask Sensei about the limit to the healing power._ About Kim's behavior: _Why would she lie about hurting me? It was an accident... Right?_ And also about Shego: _She seemed almost friendly... Well, friendlier than usual, at least. She either has a plan or got knocked in the head harder than I thought._

On his way back to his room, Ron suddenly realized he forgot to check what room he woke up in. The patients in the nearby rooms were awakened by a frustrated cry of "Aw Man!"

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A/N: Ok, that was the first nonviolent meeting between Shego and Ron. Some useful information was brought up. Shego's thoughts about her legal advisor will play a decent role in a few chapters. Next on the list, though, is the next day. Parents come by without Kim and the tweebs since they're in college and high school respectively. Of course, Kim will be there... eventually. If all goes according to plan, my first story will be done in a few chapters.

Found out something this weekend. New computer parts + Unreal + Quake 4 + me = very little productivity. I think (er, hope) I got all of that out of my system (haha) so I should be able to apply a little more time to this.


	4. Meet the Parents

Disclaimer: I don't own KP. I'm dealing with it. Therapy is going well.

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Because of Ron's injuries when he originally came in, the hospital was not allowing any visitors until they could get him stabalized. After Ron had been thoroughly examined and patched up as best they could, he had been moved to his own room and knocked out with medications. Early the next morning, the nurse on duty called his parents to let them know Ron is in a room and can have visitors. This being the first the Stoppables had heard of their son was in the hospital much less his condition, they called the Possibles to see if they had any more information.

"No, we didn't know Ronald was in the hospital. Kimmie came in from the mission late last night and left early this morning for class. We haven't spoken to her at all today." MrsDrP told Mrs. Stoppable over the phone. "I'll call Kim and see if she can explain what is going on then we'll be over to see how he's doing."

MrsDrP found it quite odd that Kim didn't even leave a note about Ron being hospitalized. Even stranger was the very quick response and hang up when she called. "Sorry I didn't leave a note. I'll stop by the hospital after school but I can't talk right now. Can't be late for class." Kim said in a single quick breath before disconnecting.

Believing Kim's quick response and seeming lack of concern meant that Ronald wasn't seriously hurt. "Probably just some bruises and the hospital wanted to monitor him over night." was the conclusion MrsDrP came to. When the Drs Possible got to the hospital, the Stoppables were already there. Jim and Tim were in school so they were not with them. Ron was sleeping so the room was very quiet. Well, as quiet as it could be with a snoring Ronald. The Stoppables seemed both very upset and distraught. When Mrs Stoppable noticed the Possibles coming in, she motioned for them to follow her out of the room. Once outside, Mrs Stoppable forcefully handed the Ronald's chart to Mrs Possible.

"See what your daughter's escapades have done to my boy?!" Mrs Stoppable harshly whispered.

Not quite understanding what the sudden hostility was about since from the very brief glimpse of Ronald when they walked in the room it appeared he was at least in one piece. Mrs Possible started to look through the patient chart. As she read on, she grew more and more pale. Her husband, reading over her shoulder, wasn't faring any better. Once she got through the chart, she had a pretty good idea why Mrs Stoppable would be upset. How would she feel if someone's child dragged her little Kimmie around the world into dangerous situations time and time again. It certainly didn't take much imagination as to how upset she'd be if Kim were hurt.

"Well?" Mrs Stoppable demanded.

It must have been the tone of voice she used, because something put Mrs Possible on the defensive. Before thinking, she shot back, "All this shows is Ronald was severly injured during a mission. That doesn't mean Kim did this to him. For all we know, he could have be struck by a car crossing the street on his way home."

The harumph from Mrs Stoppable gave everyone in earshot a good idea how likely she thought that was what actually happened. "Those missions have gotten out of hand. They are just too dangerous for my son. Yet that girl keeps dragging him around even though he has no formal training. What does she expect from him? Sad to say, I'm surprised something like this hadn't happened before now."

"Actually, the odds of Ronald being injured are less then being ..." Gene Stoppable started before the twin glares from the arguing females convinced him this wasn't the right time.

About that time, a nurse came over and asked them to quite down. The mothers' voices were rising as the 'talk' progressed. All four went back into the room and picked up where they left off. The nurse followed them in since she had to check up on Ron's various beeping machines.

"Ronald was never forced to go along with Kim. He always had a choice to stay behind. If he felt he was getting in over his head, he could have called a stop to it." Mrs Possible's response was out before she could stop it. It was just the way that Mrs Stoppable seemed to be accusing her daughter of manipulating Ronald that seemed to put her on the offensive.

"Oh you know Kimberly has him wrapped around her finger. She doesn't even have to say 'jump' and he's reaching orbit."

"That's still no reason to blame this on Kim. We have no idea what actually caused this... injury... to Ronald."

"'Injury' is an understated way to describe something so life changing as paralysis. And just because it _might_ not have been Kimberly who did this to my son," that part earned a renewed glare from Mrs Possible, "he would never have been exposed to that sort of environment if it weren't for her."

Ron was awakened by the sound of a steadily increasing argument. Once conciousness fully reached his medicine clouded mind, he realized it was his parents and the Possibles arguing. From the sound of it, it seemed his parents were blaming his former injuries on Kim's reckless behavior. Since no child likes to hear their parents arguing, Ron felt twice as bad since these were his parents and his almost-parents arguing. He quikly jumped out of the hospital bed to break up the argument. Before he had a chance to say a single word, all talk and movement immediately ceased. Initially proud at how he was able to quickly calm everyone down, he started to grow uncomfortable since they were all staring at him. Even the nurse who had come in to check on the machines. His mother was the first to break the silence when she rushed over and enveloped him in a hug. Everyone else seemed to snap out of their own temporary paralysis and started speaking at the same time. Ron was barely able to make out what everyone was saying but he got the gist they were glad he was ok and wondering why the patient chart said he wouldn't walk again and whether they actually had the correct chart.

Since Ron hadn't talked to Kim about the accident, he was reluctant to go into details about how it happened. He was afraid it would spark another argument. "Yes, that is my chart. I don't remember exactly what happened in the lab. Must've just gotten hit by someone- er, something. yeah..." Ron said, hoping no one caught the stumble. It was probably good that his mother was still hugging him since it prevented him from rubbing the back of his neck. Still, from the looks on their faces, it didn't look like he succeeded. Ron tried to derail any further questions by asking one of his own, "Where's Kim?"

MrsDrP was the one to answer, "When we got the call you were here, we came as soon as visiting hours started. I called Kim to let her know you had been moved and were now allowed visitors but she said she had to go to class. She will be by after her classes end for the day."

"Oh, well, I guess she has to keep her grades up..." Ron half-heartedly replied. He really wanted to talk to her first before he slipped and got her in trouble. He really didn't want anyone blaming her since he did move in the way. "I really need to remember to just tap her on the shoulder next time." he thought to himself.

"When can I get out of here?" Ron asked the nurse. Or at least he tried. She seemed to have left the room while everyone was playing question/answer. As if on cue, the nurse walked back in the door but had a doctor in tow.

"What is the problem? Why did you drag me here so quick... ly..." The annoyed doctor started off before she noticed the supposedly paralyzed patient was standing in the middle of the room. Quickly, she moved to Ron's side and started feeling for bones in his back which she knew were shattered mere hours ago.

"Hey! That tickles!" Ron yelped as the doctor examined him.

The doctor replied, "Well, that seems to confirm you have feeling back. And the bones at least feel like they are whole. We need to run through some x-rays to see exactly what is happening, though. Just because you are standing doesn't mean nothing else is wrong."

Ron is soon put though a lot of tests, xrays, cat scans, and a few others which he never heard of. Ron is tight-lipped about exaclty how his back was damaged and then healed. He tried to pass it off as a self-inflicted accident but wouldn't elaborate exactly what that accident was. The doctors simply couldn't explain how the damage they knew was there had dissappeared. Thankfully, they did not ask Ron if he knew. They just asked him when he first was able to get up. He did let them know he got up sometime last night but conveiniently left out the part about wandering around the hospital. Hopefully, Shego doesn't mention his visit to anyone.

All of that was really moot at this point since every test they put him through showed absolutely no damage. Not even the little imperfections that are present in the bone as a break is healing. It is as if there was no damage to begin with. As the staff couldn't find anything wrong with him, they sent him home. Both Kim and Ron were going to local colleges so home was still in his parent's house.

* * *

Of course, just because he was heading home didn't mean he was out of the woods. The questions started again during the drive home.

His dad started it off with, "What exactly happened on the mission, Ronald?"

"Um, well, you see..." Ron stalled while trying to come up with some alternate explanation which didn't involve Kim causing the injuries. Considering the disagreement his parents and Kim's parents had earlier, he didn't want to give his parents another reason to get upset. "It was after we had captured Drakken and Shego. Kim was keeping an eye on them and I was poking around some of the doomsday devices. I must've hit a button or something because that is the last thing I remember before waking up in the hospital." Somewhat satisfied with that partial truth, Ron seemed to calm down a little. It was almost true, since he was looking at some of the other inventions around the lab before Kim started badgering Shego.

"Well, I don't know if you should continue going on these missions if they are that dangerous. You were lucky somehow this time. No one seems to know how you healed at all much less so quickly. There's no way to tell if this was a once in a lifetime event." Mrs Stoppable said, trying to convince her son.

"Mom! you can't make me stop missions! We help people. We save the world. Kim needs me.", Ron pleaded from the back seat.

"I just don't want to see you hurt, or worse, just to tag along with Kimberly."

"Come on, Mom. I don't get hurt often. Mostly just a little banged up. This was a freak accident."

"Even so, we are going to have a long talk about any future missions when Kimberly gets here." Mrs. Stoppable said with a tone of finality which the others in the car took to signal the conversation was indeed over. For now.

* * *

A/N: Yay for glacier pace story writing! I will strive to complete this story by the new year. All y'all other authors make this crap look easy.

Also, the previous chapters were updated only with minor changes to sentence structure and formatting. Nothing crucial to the plot has changed.


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